The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1887-09-03
THE HARVEST FIELD.
GATHERING THE GRAIN IN THE
GREAT FARMS OF DAKOTA.

GATHERING THE GRAIN IN THE
GREAT FARMS OF DAKOTA.
Up in tho Morning Early-A Machine
Which Cuts Forty Acres of Wheat
Per Day-Thc Old Cradlc-Thc Sunset
Hour.
vivid aS possible, let us imagine ourselves the
hired hands on n great wheat farm i'll Central
Dakota IA thing likely to he peasantcr ut this
distance than i'll tho reality; we are on the
farm of Mr. Cramer, for cXumple-not ono of
these monster farms which are q disgrace to
the land, but the Co0 acres of II thrifty farmer
near, say, Aberdeen, Oak. We have had
bad night with tho musquitoes, which have
swarmed around i'll the close and perfectly
still air. But we are tired, and after we fall
asleep we do not waken until the call $1,000
o out boys' Of the host (who is "rustlcr''
sounds up tho stairway; then, bcnumbed with
sleep, we tumble out, though still sleeping
and only gradually getting our bearings. We
are the "new hands" and are badly used up
with our previous days work in tho harvest
fold. When we get down tho host has built
the firc and has led tho way to the barn; the
faithful, weary wife and tho hired girl arc
doing up their hair i'll tho kitchen Us we go
out to tho barn.
"Brekfu-u-us!'
1t it composed Of fried pork, boiled pota-
toes, coffee and doughnuts, together with ex-
cellent bread and butter. We ent hurrictllv,
though we get some talk from the host, and
soon VIC are out in tho field and stand sur
veying the king of tho harvest field, "the
header" resplendent in its fire new paint and
putty. 1t is n large machine and requires
four horses to draw it-or more properly
push it, for they are fastened behind the cut
ting apparatus and the driver steers the
machine like n boat with Il rudder attached
to n wheel, which he holds between his legs as
he stands behind the teams. The machine cuts
the grain just Il few inches below the heads
and leaves the larger part of the stalk on tho
ground to DO burnt after thoroughly dry
These heads, being cut, are carried up un i'll
clined plano by means of canvas aprons aud
rollers and delivered through spout to tho
wagons or, us they are called, tho boxes" of
the field teams whose business it is to haul it
to II stack in tho center of the field which has
been cut.
"l'herc," snys the proud owner, 'there is
tile latest and best harvester in the whole list
of harvcsters, from the hand rake nanny to
the hest champion binder. I've used 'cln all,
hut this is the cheapest and best of 'eln all.
Its rustler and no mistake. Cuts twelve
feet wide and covers forty acres n day. 1t
costs less to put tho grain i'll tho stack with
this machine than it costs to bind with a
binler.'
".All rcndy there he calls ont as the teams
arc i'll position, and away We go. with the
shouting of tho driver and the cracking of
the whip, while the driver of one Of the teams
puts his wagon with n large and very high
box on it, under tho spout to catch tho de-
scending grain As we are "tcn,ler feet" We
will he driver, which is soft snap,n Willie
the louder arranges and tranls down the
the heads as they tumble into the wagon.
When our box is full we turn ont and another
team with an empty box drives under to
TAX" our pluce while we go to the stack TO uu-
lond. The stacker is usually tho man on
whom the most responsibility rests, for lie
must put tho grain in such shape that tho
rains will not destroy IT. He is trampng
Inerrly about Us drive up Hello,
Charley Nice day, don't IT,"
You bet your butcs. Say! that stacks
bound TO tip over If can't put up better
stack than that, then I'm lloss!'
"Shut up your cla,tcr and see if you can't
driv" up to the stack this timo in better
shape If you carry my corner away again
III mop the ground with your carcass, you
hear me twttcr.'
With much cllalr of this kind we pitch our
load Off thc louder does WE look ON lust in
time to hurry back and takc our places under
the falling stream of wealth Tho machine
goes back and forth on the field, not
around it.
by noon wc hive put twenty acres into
the stack safe from tho rain and the ,ews
which blca"hcd and ruined the wheat put ND
in the old bad, slovcnly fashion, We eat a
dinner of boiled beef very good with vegc-
table, dciciou, new POTATOES fresh from tho
garden, and finish with berries of some sort
and pic. After the dinner We stretch out ON
the gras, in the shall" Of II building, and
while III" rest smoke their pipes we nre talk.
ing with t"c boss.
"Ea.nrl' beats the old cradle don't it, Mr..
CrumerW
"Woll should rise up to cjaculatc fas
near the boys say somrtmNs). DO you know
your queries SET me II thinking about old
times back il: Illinois: AS rode AROUND to-
day on my harvest king, ] was thinki:i' Of
the old river piece which used to cradle.
Wn'n't il hot down there? 1t makes them
cold sliivcr, q heat run upn lncll to think
of it now! Gou see it was n Kind o l..,ill.
sulGr like, an the woods was on three sI,los of
it--oh, it was the nnte-r ON TO he'll in there.
bet your life Now SEQ how things is done
today. This forenoon wo put twenty acres
h,n,ls r,d :, I,,,. ,n ,l,i,.,, ,,,, ..,.,
horses to move things BY night we'll hav"
forty acre, in the stack, an nobody working
very Lard, either. that's themcderh Dakotn
iac-@'":